This is from the UNH web site. The Chargers are off to Winston-Salem for the Super Region One finals next week.

WEST HAVEN, Conn. -The No. 5 nationally ranked University of New Haven football team advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a 44-37 win over No. 6 Kutztown University in an offensive showdown on Saturday afternoon at DellaCamera Stadium. The Chargers tallied 538 yards of total offense behind the stellar play of Ryan Osiecki (Seymour, Conn./Seymour / Univ. of Louisville) and Jason Thompson (Stuart, Fla./South Fork ). The two connected on four touchdowns as Osiecki threw for 433 yards on 23-of-31 passing with five touchdowns while Thompson hauled in four touchdowns with 214 yards on six catches.

The Chargers are the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Super Region One and improved to 11-1 on the season. Kutztown was the No. 3 seed and concludes the 2011 season with an overall mark of 11-2. UNH advances to take on Winston-Salem State University in the NCAA quarterfinals next Saturday.

Kutztown received the ball first after New Haven won the toss and deferred to the second half. After the opening kickoff went out-of-bounds, the Golden Bears gained possession at their own 40-yard line. Nine plays later, they capped off a 3:27 drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Mashall Vogel to Josh Mastromatto.

On New Haven's next two possessions, the Chargers drove to the goal line but couldn't find the endzone. Instead they settled for 23- and 21-yard field goals to cut the deficit to one with 4:08 remaining in the first quarter.

The Chargers began the second quarter with the ball and took advantage. After completions to Josh Smart (New Haven, Conn./Hamden ) and Kameel Lashley (Boston, Mass./Boston Comm. Leadership Academy) on the drive, Osiecki finished the possession with a 43-yard touchdown pass to Thompson as New Haven went ahead, 13-7.

The two teams exchanged scores all throughout the first half. Kutztown scored on another touchdown pass from Vogel to reclaim the lead before Osiecki and Thompson connected on a five-yard score with 4:55 remaining in the half to take a 20-14 lead.

The Golden Bears regained possession and began the drive with several rushes by Robbie Frey and Josh Mastromatto. After success on the ground, Kutztown went back to the air and eventually scored on a six-yard pass to Colby Tuell as they went up 21-20 with 17 seconds remaining and a sure lead heading into the break.

However, the Chargers retaliated and with their drive starting at the New Haven 38-yard line, Osiecki completed consecutive passes to Thompson and Smart for 12 and six yards to set up a hail mary opportunity. With four seconds remaining and the ball at the Kutztown 44-yard line, Osiecki threw the ball to the back of the endzone as Thompson pulled it down with several Golden Bears opponents surrounding him. The score marked his third touchdown of the half and after a failed two-point conversion, New Haven took a 26-21 lead at halftime with the momentum in their favor.

After an offensive showdown from both teams in the first half, the third quarter featured an entirely different game as both defenses stepped up. The Chargers received the ball but had to punt for the first time in the game. Kutztown regained possession at the New Haven 44-yard line. Eight-plays later, Mastromatto scored on a 34-yard pass to give the Golden Bears a two-point advantage, 28-26.

After a scoreless third quarter for New Haven, Kutztown added to their lead on a 19-yard field goal. Despite giving up three points, the Chargers defense held strong and stopped the Golden Bears at New Haven's own two-yard line.

Trailing by five with 12 minutes to go, New Haven began their next drive at their own 29-yard line. After a nine-yard pass to Anthony Tillman (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway), the Chargers were faced with a third-and-two. Osiecki found Smart for a 13-yard reception to keep the drive going and two plays later, Mike DeCaro (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay ) juked several defenders on his way to a 45-yard score after catching a short pass from Osiecki.

After Raheem Stanley (Hartford, Conn./Weaver ) sacked Vogel on third-and-10, the Chargers got the ball back after a quick three-and-out. On the first play of the possession, Osiecki found Thompson down the middle of the field on a play-action that resulted in the eventual game-winning touchdown as Thompson ran 64-yards untouched into the endzone.

J.D. Chalifoux (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) picked off Vogel seven plays later as New Haven was well on its way of advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals. They added another field goal and Kutztown scored a touchdown with one second to play as the Chargers won, 44-37.

Thompson's career game featured 214 yards on six catches and four touchdowns. Osiecki was 23-of-31 for 433 yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also rushed for 38 yards on six carries with a long of 15 yards. Kicker Chris Scifo (Coral Springs, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas / Central Connecticut State University) was also a perfect 3-for-3 with kicks from 23, 21 and 19-yards out.

Defensively, Desmond Anderson (Jacksonville, Fla./Edward H. White / Becker College) and Mike Gomes (Brockton, Mass./Brockton ) each had a game-high of 12 tackles. Anderson also recorded an interception and broke-up two passes. Robert Hill (Suffield, Conn./Suffield / Dean Junior College) was a force on the defensive line. He had three tackles-for-loss including two sackes. Charlie Hatchet (Bridgeport, Conn./Stratford / Santa Monica College) also picked off Vogel and added six tackles.

New Haven will now face the No.1 seeded Winston-Salem State in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Saturday, December 3 in the NCAA Quarterfinal Round. The Rams are ranked No. 3 nationally and are coming off a 35-28 win over fifth-seeded California (Pa.). Complete game details will be made available on Monday, November 28.

Despite rolling to an undefeated mark in DII play the New Haven football team could lose its top seed.
Winston-Salem defeated Elizabeth City on Saturday wrapping up its conference title. With all the power points that WS will accrue their is talk that they will leapfrog New Haven in the final poll and earn the No. 1 seed and home field throughout the playoffs.
And if that happens there has to be an explanation of how the final rankings are rendered.
The word around SCSU on Saturday was that even if it had won it would have gotted shut out from the playoff rankings. The D2 has to go to a more apparent way to choose its playoff participants.
It makes the BCS standings look fair

Here are the latest D2 college football rankings for the East regional:

The top six teams make the playoffs. New Haven should be safe at 8-0 in the region with games left against Pace and St. Anselm's, the bottom-feeders of the NE-10. While the Chargers won't get many points for those wins, if they do win they should at least finish in first or second and get a bye and at least one home game.
SCSU is off next and week and will probably slide down another slot but four of the teams ahead of them play each other and that will hopefully move them back up.
Southern finishes the season against Merrimack which will earn them some points but will be a tough game.

1. New Haven 8-0 8-1
2. Winston-Salem 8-0 9-0
3. WV Wesleyan 9-0 9-0
4. Bloomsburg 8-1 8-1
5. Elizabeth City 7-1 7-2
6. Slippery Rock 8-1 8-1
7. S. Connecticut 7-1 7-2
8. Callifornia 7-1 7-2
9. Kutztown 8-1 8-1
10. Shepherd 6-2 7-2

By Bill Cloutier
Assistant Sports Editor
bcloutier@nhregister.com
NEW HAVEN — For the past two years not one team from the Northeast-10 Conference has reached the NCAA Division II football playoffs.
This year two teams could earn a berth, and they’re both from the area.
New Haven was ranked first when the initial 2011 regional rankings were released on Monday. Southern Connecticut State was ranked seventh. The top six teams in the final rankings earn a berth in the playoffs.
Both teams have been winning on the edge lately. New Haven (7-1, 5-0 NE-10) is ranked 13th nationally in the latest Division II poll. It’s a fantastic start which should give them wiggle room down the stretch. Even if New Haven loses one of its final two games, the Chargers should still earn a playoff berth.
“I would think that would happen,” New Haven coach Peter Rossomando said. “The last couple of years the top seed has lost a game and still made the playoffs.”
But New Haven will have to run the table to secure the one of the top two seeds which carries with it a first-round bye and at least one
See Playoffs, D3
home game.
“I was surprised that we were ahead of Bloomsburg,” Rossomando said. “They’re undefeated and we’ve got one loss but I really haven’t poured over their schedule. We must have a better strength of schedule.”
Rossomando is not counting on anything right now. Not No. 1 seeds or even sneaking into the playoffs.
“Last year we were No. 6 and lost the last game so I’m not counting on anything until Nov. 14 (when the final rankings are released).”
New Haven edged Bentley 45-38 last week.
“I wasn’t really happy with how we played last week but I give a lot of credit to the guys who’ve worked hard to pull it out,” Rossomando said.
The Chargers have gotten an MVP-type season from quarterback Ryan Osiecki. The Seymour native has thrown for 21 touchdowns and run for another six on the season.
“He’s really made a steady progression,” Rossomando said. “The first year the numbers were skewed because we were behind so much and had to throw the ball all the time, and last year our running game was so strong (it also affected his numbers). This year he’s done a great job of taking what the defense has given him and his numbers are solid.”
Across town at Southern Connecticut, the Owls have become have become a team not for the faint of heart.
Southern (6-2, 5-1 NE-10) has trailed in every game except its 61-0 win over Pace.
Last week the Owls had to rally back from a 12-point deficit with just 5 minutes remaining on the way to a thrilling 48-47 win against American International on its homecoming day.
Cavanaugh still has faith in its defense but the unit has surrendered just under 40 points a game over the past four games.
“We have leveled off lately,” Cavanaugh said. “What was making us a good defense is that we were opportunistic. We forced a lot of turnovers. Last week we forced a couple of fumbles which was key but we didn’t have any interceptions. We’ve got to get back to playing with more confidence and being more physical.”
Like any other football coach Cavanaugh preaches taking it one game at a time but he is hopeful that two more wins to complete the season will hand his team in the postseason.
“The only thing that we have control of is winning the last two,” he said. “It looks to me that certain teams that are ahead of us (in the rankings) have to play each other so that’s a plus for us.”
Southern has not made the playoffs since 2008 when it capped a streak of four straight years in the postseason.

After Southern loss to New Haven 59-38 on Friday night, I asked SCSU defensive back Steven Teague what was the difference.
He talked about a couple of missed assignments and then gave New Haven a lot of the credit.
"They're a good team," Teague said. "(Ryan Osiecki's) a good quarterback."
You can say that again.
Osiecki was clearly the difference in the contest and he was picture perfect on his deep balls.
New Haven stayed away from the middle of the field probably trying to avoid SCSU's great linebacker corps. And they threw over the top of Southern's fantastic secondary where the taller UNH receivers made the grabs.
It was a fantastic show by Osiecki and his receivers.
"We're a good team, too," Teague added. "And we'll be back to prove it."

Here was Saturday's game story:

NEW HAVEN — For three quarters the only thing bigger than the hype were the numbers on the scoreboard.
Two teams, separated by a mere couple of miles, displayed the promise of the region’s top Division II programs in a tense battle royale.
But when it was all said and done New Haven quarterback Ryan Osiecki turned a game of “Anything you can do, I can do better” into his personal highlight reel.
Osiecki threw for 423 yards on a precision-like 29-for-37 effort, including three touchdowns, and ran for another score as New Haven rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to clobber Southern Connecticut State 59-38 at Jess Dow Field Friday night.
While the conference implications were heightened by the heated rivalry, which was reflected in a pre-game scuffle well before kickoff, it was the Chargers who took a stranglehold on the Northeast-10 Conference lead and gained an inside track to an NCAA playoff berth.
No. 21 New Haven improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference with its second straight win in the series while Southern falls to 4-2 and 3-1.
New Haven leads the battle for the Elm City Trophy 15-6-1.
“We watched a lot of film on them,” Osiecki said. “As an offense and when it comes to passing, we feel like when we’re clicking we’re extremely hard to stop. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing.
“These are the best games to be a part of. To come out and go back and forth, that’s football. That’s why I love playing it.”
The 12 touchdowns in the game was a new conference record and the majority of them came from the New Haven side. Southern took a 30-17 lead scoring on its first possession of the second half but New Haven went on to outscore them 42-8 the rest of the way to turn a taut affair into a rout.
The turnaround was stunning.
“Osiecki was outstanding,” SCSU coach Rich Cavanaugh said. “We could have played better and I thought our kicking game let us down but Osiecki played so well. You really have to give them credit. We had protection problems with our offensive line but their defensive line played really well.
“We couldn’t sustain anything in the second half and we had to match their scoring. We didn’t do it.”
Osiecki threw a flurry of passes for over 30 yards on the night hitting his tall receivers on deep routes as they towered over the smaller but talented SCSU secondary. Jason Thompson finished with
See UNH, B3
seven catches for 179 yards and Demetrius Washington-Ellison had four catches for 84 yards.
“(Their height) definitely helps,” Osiecki said. “But they’re just complete receivers.”
Said New Haven coach Pete Rossomando: “I think they may have been a little banged up in the secondary. We had Jason Thompson, who just caught fire and Ryan really liked some things out there. We were able to protect him.”
New Haven also got two touchdown runs from tailback Mike DeCaro. Subbing for the injured Victor Jones, DeCaro returned the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and then scored on runs of 2 and 7 yards in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Osiecki, who had two of New Haven’s four turnovers in the first half with two interceptions, connected with Thompson on touchdown passes of 29 and 12 yards. But it was his 17-yarder to Washington-Ellison in the corner of the end zone at the 11:38 mark of the fourth quarter that gave New Haven the lead for good.
Southern led the game 30-17 early in the third quarter after Rashaad Slowley capped a quick drive with a 22-yard run. Slowley finished with three touchdowns and ran for 184 yards on 24 carries.
“They’re a run, play-action team and it helps when you can make them one-dimensional at times, which wasn’t easy,” Rossomando said. “Slowley is a heck of a running back. He broke a lot of tackles. But we contained him enough that we were able to make plays and get Lynch out of his comfort zone.
“We like to play better defense. But they’re a good offense. They have a good quarterback and their receivers are outstanding. So we knew we were going to have to score some points to win.”
SCSU quarterback Kevin Lynch was battered by the blitzing New Haven defense. Lynch was inaccurate at times and hurried most of the other and threw for 220 yards on 15 of 36 passing. In the wild affair in front of a crowd of 4,204, Lynch threw just one touchdown pass, an 18-yarder to tight end Jerome Cunningham.
It was a forgettable night for the senior signal-caller. Twice Lynch fumbled the ball on sacks and Robert Hill returned one of the fumbles 48 yards for a score that gave New Haven a 31-30 lead. In all Lynch was sacked five times and forced to pull the ball down and run with it on several other occasions.
Osiecki made it 38-30 with a 12 yard keeper late in the third quarter. Southern responded with Slowley’s third touchdown of the game on a 10-yard run and Lynch dove into the end zone to tie the game at 38 with the two-point conversion.
Contact Bill Cloutier at 203-789-5653. Follow Bill on twitter @BillCloutier

This is from New Haven football beat writer, Chris Hunn

WEST HAVEN — Shawn Leo had just booted his fourth field goal to put West Chester (Pa.) University ahead in overtime.
So New Haven coach Pete Rossomando knew it was time to call for the play action that he said he was “holding in his pocket” for the right moment. This was it. He expected man coverage. The Chargers were inside the Golden Rams 20-yard line.
Running back Mike DeCaro came around for the handoff. West Chester’s defense bit on the fake. That left quarterback Ryan Osiecki with just enough time to hit a wide-open Josh Smart in the flat for a 13-yard touchdown.
The game-winning strike lifted the Chargers to a 35-32 season-opening victory Saturday in front 3,112 at DellaCamera Stadium.
“That’s a great win for our program,” Rossomando said. “That’s a good team. They’re going to win eight games. I guarantee you that. I told our guys, they won’t know how good this win is until eight, nine weeks down the road.”
The win over the Golden Rams, a strong program out of the powerful Pennsylvania Athletic State Conference, could prove to be critical when it comes time to select teams for the NCAA Division II playoffs.
Aside from a 7-3 lead they held for about 4 minutes in the second quarter Saturday, the Chargers were down — but never out.
See UNH, C3
Continued from C1
West Chester quarterback Matt Carroll connected with LaRonn Lee for an 11-yard touchdown to put the Golden Rams up 26-14 early in the fourth quarter. Then DeCaro returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards. That helped setup a 3-yard touchdown run for Anthony Tillman, which cut the deficit to 26-21.
Later in the quarter, following an Osiecki interception, Leo made a 28-yard field goal to put West Chester up 29-21 with just over 4 minutes to play. West Chester kept its drive alive during that possession, coming through facing fourth-and-12.
New Haven came right back and Osiecki scored on a 1-yard run with 1:12 to go. The Chargers had to go for a two-point conversion at that point. Osiecki’s pass attempt to Chris Ruffin was incomplete, but the Golden Rams were called for pass interference. Osiecki got another chance and took advantage, hitting Ruffin in the back of the end zone to knot the game at 29 and force overtime.
“We made mistakes,” Osiecki said. “But to be able to come back, that’s the biggest part.”
Said Rossomando: “We practice that stuff. We talk about overcoming adversity. They’ve been through it all. You name it, 60-10 drubbings, 60-10 wins, nail-biters. That’s the best thing about these guys. They fight. They don’t give up.”
Osiecki completed 16-of-27 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked three times and had three interceptions. He also rushed for 54 yards on a team-high 14 carries. Demetrius Washington-Ellison caught two touchdowns. In his first game since tearing his MCL last season, running back Victor Jones rushed for 57 yards on 11 carries.
Desmond Anderson and J.D. Chalifoux each had nine tackles for the Chargers.
The Golden Rams used two different quarterbacks. Carroll threw for 110 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 90 yards. McCartney threw for another 173 yards.
“They have a ton of talent,” said West Chester coach Bill Zwaan of New Haven. “Their defensive line gave us fits all day. Offensively, their quarterback did a lot of nice things. They have good receivers. They established that run game later.”

WEST HAVEN — When a school starts a football program from scratch, you can expect it to take its share of lumps. It’s supposed to take years to become competitive.
Apparently, Peter Rossomando doesn’t prescribe to the practice of patience. His University of New Haven football team shared the Northeast-10 Conference title last season, just the second since the school reinstated a program eliminated due to budget concerns several years earlier.
On the heels of an 8-2 season and a share of the NE-10 title, New Haven will play its annual spring game on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ralph DellaCamera Stadium. There is no charge for admission.

The Chargers appeared headed for the NCAA Division II playoffs last year and the outright conference title but lost a stunner at Saint Anselm 35-26 on the final week of the season. The loss ended their hopes of a payoff berth.
“It was bitter for a about a week,” Rossomando said. “But then the guys looked back at it and we realized what we had accomplished.”
Rossomando said he figured it would take at least three years for his team to challenge for a conference title. They were one year ahead of schedule.
“I thought when they were all juniors that it could happen,” he said. “We had some things go our way last year. We could have easily been 5-5 but we were 8-2 because of the work we put it into it.
“I cautioned the kids that they were going to have to work even harder this year. I told them they couldn’t become complacent. They all know all these players are coming back, but I told them, ‘You’re not going to be better just because you’re a year older’.
“We really hammered them this offseason and they’ve responded. I’m really happy how practice has gone and we’re going to have to be ready this year. Everyone’s going to be gunning for us.”
See UNH, D3
While there are 21 starters returning, Rossomando said that several incumbents are getting pushed for playing time in the spring.
“The biggest thing we have to develop is depth,” Rossomando said. “That’s what killed us down the stretch last year. We didn’t have the depth and we paid for it.”
Rossomando also tried to increase his team’s strength of schedule to help qualify for the postseason. It wasn’t easy.
“No one wants to play us,” he said. “We’ll play anyone. We called everyone in the (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) and no one called us back. We called Indiana-Pa. We called Edinboro. They never called us back.”
The Chargers did schedule an interesting and challenging game against William & Mary, but because they are a Football Championship Subdivision program, it won’t count for Division II playoff considerations.
“That will show that we’ll play anyone,” Rossomando said. “The PSAC doesn’t want to play home-and-homes. You just have to go to their place.”
Rossomando said he was fortunate to get a late game against West Chester, a PSAC shool, after it had an opening because of a scheduling conflict. That became the Chargers’ season opener, giving them 11 games this season.
“That’s a great game because we know they’ll have wins,” Rossomando said. “The two non-conference teams we played last year had a total of two wins.”
Rossomando is rightfully concerned about boosting the schedule to earn a berth in the Division II playoffs. Last year no team from the NE-10 reached the playoffs.
Rossomando said the biggest battles for spots in the preseason are coming on the interior. With Raheem Stanley, a dominant 315-pound defensive linemen back from suspension, the Chargers hope that part of the team will become their strength.
There are also interesting battles developing at safety. Rossomando feels the team needs to bulk up its depth at linebacker behind Bridgeport’s Charlie Hatchett.
And even quarterback Ryan Osiecki has a bit of competition from impressive sophomore Ronnie Nelson. Osiecki is a senior from Seymour who threw for 1,861 yards and 16 touchdowns last year. Nelson was 7-for-7 passing last season with two touchdowns.

After you're done watching Anderson Cooper getting attacked, get ready for a busy weekend of area college sports.

The University of New Haven will host a men's and women's basketball doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Southern won the women's contest earlier in the season while the Chargers won the men's game.
Both should be close contests.

The Quinnipiac men's basketball team begins a crucial weekend set tonight at St. Francis-New York on the road. The Bobcats then play at Northeast Conference leaders Long Island.
If the Bobcats sweep the pair of games they will have a legitimate shot to win the NEC title once again and earn the right to host every game it plays in the postseason NEC tournament.
The schedule gets a bit easier for Quinnipiac after this weekend.

The Yale men's basketball team needs to go on a long winning streak if it's going to contend for the Ivy League title. Yale was swept on the road last week leaving it 2-2 in the league.
The Bulldogs host Cornell and Columbia this weekend. Again, both games should be close but the Bulldogs will be favored in both.

On the women's side, the Quinnipiac women's team lost both games last weekend in a showdown of the top three teams in the NEC.
That leaves Quinnipiac battling at 7-3 in the conference to remain on the top half of the conference standings in order to host at least one tournament game.

The Yale women's team suffered its first league loss of the season last time out, falling to Princeton 52-37. Still, Yale is in good shape after starting the season 3-0 in the Ancient Eight.
While the men's team plays host to Cornell and Columbia over the weekend, the women's team will play both squads on the road.

Bentley beat New Haven 23-15. It was the Chargers first home game in five years.
Quarterback Bryant Johnson led Bentley with 212 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-32 passing.
His counterpart, Ryan Osiecki threw for 245 yards and a touchdown on 23-of-38 passing. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked six times.
Bentley kicker Tyler McNamara kicked three field goals.